Back From the Depths
by Silent Rush
Summary: Buffy saved the ones she loves. She died. She came back, but things can go wrong.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note:  This story takes place in season 6, instead of Willow bring Buffy back, someone or something else did.  Please email me or leave reviews, especially if I messed up on a fact, thanks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, next time we go into a dark alley, we bring flash lights."  Cordy hobbled down the hotel steps, closely followed by Wes and Gunn.

"Agreed."  The three turned their heads to look at the fourth and newest member of the team, Fred Burkle.  "What?  It makes sense."

Over the summer, Fred had ventured out of her room and gotten familiar with the gang.  Angel, on the other hand, had gone to the Tibetan mountains.  There was a monastery there, he planned to find peace in Buffy's recent death.  The group expected him back in the second week of September, it was the first of the month.

"Hey, Lorne, is that you?"  Gunn looked at a small dark figure huddled in the corner in front of Angel's office.  The rest of the group ventured forward, curious to what it was.

"Gunn, that's not Lorne."  Wes removed his glasses and was shocked at what he saw.  "Buffy?"

"Omigod."  Cordy's hand flew to her mouth as she realized who she was looking at.

"Buffy?"  Fred didn't know the young woman very well, but she knew the story.  Gunn had met the slayer once, liked her, but never really gotten to know her before her death.  He flipped on a light and the woman flinched at its brightness.  

The group gasped at what they saw.  Buffy was naked, with hair that touched the ground as she crouched as if prepared to run.  Her visible body was scared, burned, cut, and blood dripped down from her wounds.  The woman looked like Buffy Summers, but the group wasn't sure, for all they knew, she had died three months ago.

"Buffy?"  Wes ventured forward, careful, not to startle her.  The woman looked up, her dark green eyes were dim, but there was something.  She looked at Wes for a moment before breaking down.  Her body was soon rack with shaking and her loud sobs occupied the room.  Wes smiled a little, and let out a relieved sigh.  This was Buffy, it had to be.  He crouched down beside her and took her in his arms, and began to comfort his ex-charge.  To the surprise of the other group, Buffy wrapped her small marred arms around the ex-watcher.


	2. The Truth

"How is she?"  Fred turned as Cordy, Lorne and Wes walked down the stairs into the lobby.  Fred and Gunn had been waiting while the other three took care of Buffy.

"Sedated."  Lorne smiled, but there was sadness behind the smile.

"So it's her?"  Asked Gunn. 

"Yes, I'm afraid so."  Wes sighed.

"What's bad about her being back?"

"Nothing, it's just that we have no idea why or how she got back."  Cordy may have never really gotten along with Buffy, but she still thought of her as a friend.

"Right now she can't talk, her vocal cords have been severed.  They will heal, as will the rest of her injuries.  The only wounds that may take longer or never heal are the emotional ones."  Lorne looked around at the others as he said this.

"So what do we do?"  Gunn and Fred looked at Wes.  

"Do we call Sunnydale?"

"No."  Wes frowned.  "When we mentioned that to her she started to have an anxiety attack.  We can only assume that she does not yet want her friends to know she is alive."

"Why not?"

"Because she isn't ready."  

"I hate to be the one to bring up the bad news, but does anyone have an idea of where she might have come from?"  Lorne looked at the others.

****

Over the next two weeks, the group and Buffy got closer.  Buffy's wounds healed and she began to talk, though one conversation was not exactly...fun.  Three days before the 14th, Wes - who Buffy had gotten the closest to, she now referred to him as a second father -  sat the group including Buffy down.

"Buffy, I...we know this is hard for you, but we need to know if you remember anything from your past three months.  The group looked at Buffy, and noticed how much she had changed.  She was not the healthy young woman they had all - except for Fred - once known.  Her long blonde hair that reached down past her waist was now regularly braided back by Cordy or Fred.  Her deep green eyes were not as bright as they used to be, but weren't as dim as they first were when she had come back.  She was skinnier, and her muscles were not what they used to be.  Most of her wounds had healed, but not as fast as they should have.  The group had deduced that Buffy was no longer a slayer, or at least she did not have enhanced Slayer abilities.  But even behind all of that, she still had her original spunk, and spirit as she did, possibly as far back as the first day she moved to Sunnydale.

Buffy sighed and smiled faintly.  "I don't just remember anything, I remember everything."  Buffy didn't hesitate when the group became quiet.  "How could I forget three hundred years of torture."

"What?"  Cordy was the first to speak.  The others followed with similar comments.

"What you need to understand is that in hell dimensions, time moves different then in our dimension."

"So you were in a hell dimension.  Cause I was trapped in one, and which were you..."  At a look from the others, Fred stopped talking.  "Right, sorry...I..."

"No, it's fine.  I was in Kytosiea.  The demon that was in charge of my torture, he would inject me daily with an anti-ageing toxin.  It kept me 22 for three centuries.  It also kept my wounds healing over so I would be fresh for a new day of torture."

"Buffy..."  She held up her hand as Lorne started to speak.

"I don't know exactly what happened to me when I jump through the portal last May.  I do know that I died.  My guess is that my soul was captured in the hell dimension, leaving my body a shell.  I'm also guessing that it is no longer existent in the ground in Sunnydale.  That a new shell was formed by the demons in Kytosiea.  I don't know how or why I was brought back, but I do know that I couldn't be happier to be back."  Buffy smiled around at the others.  They understood and were content, for now.

Over the next few days, they worked on finding out more about what had happened to Buffy, but on the fourteenth, they hit a forgotten bump in the road.  


	3. Reality

Buffy, dressed in a red cotton hoodie with no sleeves, underneath a pair of large over-alls, combat boots, and a blue handkerchief over her lone long braid, walked into the hotel lobby.  She then went behind the desk and started to organize files on the group's laptop as Cordy had showed her.  The others had gone out to run errands but Lorne said he would come over before they got back to help Buffy, but he hadn't arrived yet.

As Buffy was working on the computer, she heard the doors open, but kept her eyes on the screen, thinking it was her friend.

"Hey Lorne, I downloaded a new song.  It's from the 40's and I think you'll really like it."  When the demon didn't answer, Buffy looked up, but the smile slid from her face as she saw who stood in front of her.  "Angel."

The vampire stood with his eyes wide, staring at her.  He couldn't believe what he was seeing, she was dead.  Willow had come to LA three months ago to tell him that, but how then, was she standing in front of him.

The petit blonde held out her hands in front of her and started to back away from the desk.  "Okay, Angel, this isn't what you think.  Or maybe it's exactly what you think."

Angel dropped his bag and began to walk towards her.  "You're dead.  You died."

"Yeah, but now I'm back."

"You're not Buffy.  You don't feel like her."

"Yeah, well I've changed.  I've been through a lot."

"I know Buffy, and you're not her."

"I really don't think you know me, I mean..."  Suddenly Angel leapt over the front desk and towards Buffy.  She no longer had slayer speed and strength and when Angel slammed her down on Cordy's desk with his hand on her throat, she could do nothing to stop him.

"Tell me who you really are?"  Angel's vamped out and loosed his grip on Buffy just a little so she could talk.

"Angel, ask me anything.  Anything the real Buffy, me, would know."  Her words were gurgled.

Angel thought for a moment, going through his painful memories of himself and Buffy.  Finally he came to one.  "Just before the portal to hell closed three years ago, when you saved the world, what happened, that no one else knows about?"

Tears formed in Buffy's green eyes, but not from the pain.  "Willow's spell worked, Angelus was gone, and you came back, to me.  Bu..but I couldn't keep you for myself, I had to do...I had to kill you, to send you to hell."  Realization dawned on Angel's face and he released his grip on Buffy and backed away.  His face was confused and pained, he slammed into the desk, looking back at Buffy.

She rose from the desk, rubbing her neck, drying her tears.  "I know this doesn't make sense, none of it does.  But you have to try and understand that it is harder for me, then it is or will be for you."

Angel looked up at the woman he loved, the woman he thought was dead, who he had spent three months mourning over.  Buffy had changed, not only in personality, but also in appearance.  Her hair was longer, her structure smaller, much skinnier, and her muscles that had once been defined, were hardly there.

"How?"  The word was barely a whisper.

"We...don't know.  We don't know how, why, only...."

"What?"

"Where."

"Where?"

"Angel, for the past three months, more correctly, three hundred years..."

"No.  No, no, no, no.  NO."  Angel realized what Buffy meant, where she had been, and it killed him.  Buffy, his Buffy, the slayer, had been in hell.  He looked up at her, taking in the scars and healing wounds.  They had tortured her, for three hundred fricking years.

"I know Angel, I know."  Buffy carefully walked forward and crouched down beside Angel.  She put her arms around him, trying to comfort him, as Wes had done for her.

They stayed that way until Lorne came in, shortly followed by the others.  Wes took charge, explaining to Angel what had happened during the past two weeks, trying to help him understand.

****

Later, that night, Gunn had taken Buffy out for ice cream and left the others to talk with Angel.  He sat on the couch in front of his office, while the others silently tried to decide who would start.  Angel took care of that.

"How, Wes?"  The ex-watcher sighed.

"We don't know, we're working on it, but...so far we have nothing."

"We've been searching through millions of texts, on the web.  We've hit a dead end."  Cordy was just as sad.

"Have you tried..."  Angel looked to Lorne.

"She sang, and I got a big headache.  All the flashes were, were pictures of her being tortured, of her pain, her loneliness, and of her courage to keep on going.  Nothing of why she was back or how."

"We took her to a hospital under a different name, there's nothing wrong physically with her."  Fred smiled a little.  "In fact she is in perfect health.  The wounds are healing normally,"  She looked around at the others.  "Normal for a regular human being.  All of her vitals are the same as a regular human being."  At this, Angel looked sharply at his friends.

"What are you saying?  That she isn't the slayer anymore?"

"As far as we can tell, yes."  Wes smiled grimly.

"Buffy accepts this?"

"She, is, let's say more then content with that fact."

"She doesn't mind?"

"No."

"This is pretty, wow."  Angel ran his hands over his eyes and threw his hair.

"We know."

"Have you called Willow?  Anyone from Sunnydale?"

"No."  Cordy sat down across from him.  "Buffy's made it every clear she isn't ready to face her friends."

"But she died saving them."

"That's what makes it even harder.  Because they care so much, it would kill them to know she went to hell.  No slayer has ever gone to hell, there is a special place in heaven reserved for them, always."  Cordy looked to Angel then to the rest of the group.  "Buffy's the only slayer to go to hell in the history of slayers.  And the only one to come back."


	4. Choices

"So, what's it like?  I mean the whole having no slayer powers and all."  Gunn and Buffy had finished their ice cream and were walking around downtown.  "If you don't mind me asking."

Buffy smiled at the dark man.  "No, it's fine.  I like it, to tell you the truth.  Not having the weight of the world on my shoulders, it's nice, comforting."

"Is that what being the slayer was to you?  Having the weight of the world put on your shoulders?"  At Gunn's question, Buffy thought, really thought.

"Yeah, it was."

"Oh.  Well cool, now you're not.  Hey, the order of the slayers is back, right.  Faith's the only one."

"Yeah."  Buffy frowned.  "You know, we're going to have to get her out of jail.  The one and only slayer can't be behind bars, demons will have free rain over the world."

"Hey, professional demon hunter over 15 years running."  Buffy laughed.

"I know, but the world needs a slayer, no matter how screwed up she is."

****

"No.  It is completely out of the question."  After Buffy and Gunn had returned back to the hotel, Buffy had proposed her idea to the others.  Wes was the first one to speak.  "No, she is a killer."

"Wes, you can't be bias just because she tired to kill you.  The world needs a slayer."

"She's right, man.  No matter what state of mind Faith is in, she can't stay in jail."  Gunn stood next to Buffy.

Angel was still sitting quietly on the couch, Buffy appealed to him.  "You were one of the people who supported her when no one else would.  Angel, why not help her now.  She could go Sunnydale.  Giles could be her watcher, she could work with the scoobies.  You know she would do it."   Cordy intercepted before he could answer.

"You were one of the people who Faith hurt the most.  Why are you trying to get her back out where she could hurt even more people.  Including ones you love."

"Every one deserves a second chance."

"And Faith was given one.  Not only did she screw you over again, but she screwed your boyfriend, and almost killed Wesley."  Buffy smiled at Cordy.

"Third time's the charm."  At these words, Angel chose to speak for the first time.  His voice was grave, his eyes only on Buffy.

"What about you?  What will you do?"  Everyone turned to Buffy, who smiled again.

"After I help Faith get settled, I plan to go to Spain, at least for a while."

"Why Spain?"  Asked Fred.

"My father lives there.  After his business picked up, he moved there with my stepmother Ana.  They married last winter.  Dawn and I went there for two weeks for the wedding.  I don't know if they know about my death in the spring, but I would like to see them.  Get a few things straightened out, see my brothers."  Everyone started at the last two words Buffy spoke.

"Brothers?"  Angel looked at Buffy.  "I thought Dawn was your only sibling."  Buffy smiled.

"Chris is 23, Drew is 21.  They know about me being the slayer.  They walked in on Merric and I training once."  Buffy's voice faltered for a second as she remembered her first watcher, but then was back to normal again.  

"They believed the role of a slayer was...noble at best.  After our parents divorce, after the fire at the high school, they chose to leave, to go and join the army."  Buffy closed her eyes and smirked before looking at the others.  "My brothers the soldiers.  Over the years we've stayed close, the holidays and summers I spent with my dad, they took leave so we could be together.

"They now work for the section of the government that deals with demons."

"Like the Initiative?"

"No.  They keep peace, kill were they need to, track the demons that have no intention of harming others.  They're the good guys.  If I go to Spain, my father will contact them to bring them home.  I want...need to see them."  Buffy looked around at the others, who were hesitating in uncertainty.  "Please."


	5. Back to the Hellmouth

The group spent the next week appealing to the Watcher's Council.  Finally they decided it was for the best, and negotiated Faith's release.  Angel and Buffy were going to pick her up at midnight on Saturday.  The scoobies still didn't know about Buffy, in fact all Faith knew was that she was getting parole for good behavior.

That night, at ten to midnight, Buffy and Angel pulled up into the prison parking lot, in front of the gate Faith would be exiting.  They stood against the side of the car, waiting.

"Are you sure about this?"  Angel glanced over at Buffy.  He had thought she would try and look intimidating to Faith.  Dressed in loose blue jeans, a red turtle neck and jean jacket, she looked small.

"Yeah."  Buffy had let Cordy cut her hair.  It was now just past her shoulders.  Buffy still kept it in two braids with a handkerchief, but she played with one braid nervously.  "They need this, she needs this."

They stayed silent for the next eight minutes, until they heard the gates open.  They both looked to the pathway, suddenly a tall, brunette, rippled figure appeared, complete in black leather.  Faith.  She was smiling, but stopped five feet away as she noticed Buffy and Angel.  There was the unmistakable look of disbelief in her dark eyes.

"B?  They said you died.  Now I may have just spent a year in jail, but I am not insane."  Faith walked a little closer and Buffy smirked.  Angel waited, knowing the two needed time.

"I could argue with that."  Suddenly Faith broke out in a smile.

"Only you couldn't be satisfied with dying once."

"Faith, you need to know..."

"Hey, all is five by five with us, right?"

"Right."  The two smiled at each other, forgiving, accepting, making amends, and making new friendships all with a look.  Faith then turned to Angel.

"Hey big guy."

"Hey Faith."  The two hugged.  "Why don't we all go and get some food, we have a lot to discuss."

"Please.  Living off jail food for a year, I eat bugs."

"How about some greasy diner food."

"If that's all you can get, let's hit the road."  Faith smiled at Angel and then got in the back with Buffy, the only person who had wanted to kill her and yet at same time, the only person she completely understood her.

****

"Hey B?"  Faith and Buffy were standing outside 1630 Revello Drive, on the front porch.

In LA, Angel and Buffy had filled Faith in on everything that had happened from the time she went to jail to the present.  Surprising, Faith took it all in stride.  They then returned to the hotel and got the slayer and ex-slayer ready for Sunnydale.

The main reason the council had agreed to get Faith out of jail was that they were happy there was only one slayer left.  To show their appreciation, they had given both Faith and Buffy bank accounts of $500 000.  The girls had then gone out and bought new wardrobes, and necessities.  Angel bought weapons for Faith as a gift.  For Buffy, he gave her a laptop, she had developed a new hobby of hacking.  Fred was very proud of her student.

Two days later the girls arrived in Sunnydale, and Faith was still surprised at the fact that Buffy was planning on leaving her friends behind, after what had happened, after what she was going to tell them.

"Yeah?"  Buffy was dressed in white, thin, cotton pants with a tight white tank top over top with a jean jacket.  Her hair was down and she wore bronzed sunglasses.  Faith had chosen her usual jeans, red shirt and leather jacket.

"Are you..."

"If one more person asks me that, I will pick up a gun and send them out of this world."  Buffy smiled and Faith couldn't help but laugh.

"Fair enough."  Faith knocked on the door and Buffy took off her sunglasses.  They waited.  They saw a red head move towards the door, and both of them smiled as Willow opened the door, her mouth almost dropping to the floor as she saw who stood in front of her.

"Faith!  Buffy?"

****

For about twenty minutes Willow stood stunned looking at the woman she thought was in jail for life and the woman who had died four months ago saving her friends' lives.

"Willow?"  She snapped out of her trance and looked at Faith who smiled.  "Can we come in?"

"What?  Yeah, sure."  She moved aside and the two stepped in.  Faith moved into the living room, while Buffy followed but she moved differently.  Buffy ran her fingers along the couch, mantel, desk, making sure it was all real.  Willow still couldn't believe her best friend was standing in front of her.

"I know you probably have a lot of questions."  Willow tore her gaze away from Buffy and looked to Faith.  "But it would be better if everyone was here when we explained."

"Xander, Anya, Tara and Giles took Dawn to the Carasoul, to cheer her up.  It's been hardest for her, no it hasn't, it's been just as hard for all of us."  Buffy now looked at Willow, but her face was expressionless.  "They should be back any minute now."  

The three stood for a moment not moving, then they heard a voice.  "Hey red, who was it at the door.  Is niblet back?"  Spike came around the corner from the kitchen, but stopped dead as he saw Buffy and Faith standing with Willow.  His eyes flicked from the blonde to the red head and back to the blonde, unbelieving.

Suddenly he gave a short laugh.  "Red, this isn't funny.  Make the magic go away.  You know Buffy's...Buffy's...dead."  His face fell as Buffy turned to look at him fully.  He looked into her eyes seeing every proof he needed.  "Buffy?"

Just then the front door burst open and the four turned to see the others enter.

"Hey Willow, Xander got sick on the..."  Dawn was smiling but stopped as she saw Buffy.  

"Don't believe a word she says..." Xander came up behind her and did the same.  Anya, Tara and Giles soon followed.  Soon every eye in the room was on Buffy who smiled and said; "Hi."


	6. Home

"Hi?  Hi?"  Xander stepped forward hugged Buffy.  "Oh god Buff, after four months of you being gone, that's all you can say."

"It doesn't faze you all that I'm standing here, after dying?"

"You've come back once before, who's to say you couldn't do it again."  Xander released Buffy and Dawn came up next.  She smiled then kicked Buffy hard in the shin.  Buffy shouted out in pain then fell to the floor.  Faith reacted fast by pushing Dawn away and crouching down to help Buffy up.

"You okay B?"  

"Yeah, it's just gonna leave a bruise.  Have so many now, don't think it'll matter if I get one more."  Buffy smiled and Faith helped her up.  The others watched this all with shocked expressions.  After she helped Buffy up, Faith got in Dawn's face.

"What the hell was that about?  You see your sister for the first time after she sacrificed herself to save you, and you beat her up."

"Faith.  Stop."  Buffy pulled on the slayers arm, and moved in between them.  "She doesn't know."  Buffy turned and smiled at Dawn.  "In fact, I think it's fitting that she did it, I mean I left her without a guardian, without a sister."

"That doesn't give her the right to hit you when you..."  

"Faith!"  Buffy turned and glared at her.

"Okay, does this make sense to anyone?"  Xander looked around at his friends.

"No.  No, it doesn't."  Dawn moved closer to Buffy.  "What's going on?"

"Why don't you all sit down."  Buffy watched as her friends moved around her to sit in the living room, Faith went and stood in the doorway, watching the others.  Once they were all quiet and listening, Buffy took a deep breath and began

"Last spring, when I jumped through the portal, my soul was trapped, my body falling, was a shell.  I spent three hundred years the equivalent three months here in the hell dimension Kytosiea, kept 22 forever, tortured forever.  For reasons that I don't know or understand I was brought back.  I don't know how either.  I was brought back to the Hypreion Hotel in LA, Wes, Cordy, Gunn, Fred and Lorne spent two weeks helping me, adjusting me.  At the end of those two weeks, Angel came back from Tibet.  He then helped me get Faith out of jail, with the help of the council, and clear her.  We then prepared to come here."  

Buffy looked around at her friends who stared back at her.  "I know it's hard to accept, but it's all true."

"Wow."  Anya pretty much summed up everyone's thoughts, then they all burst out laughing.  Faith's mouth dropped open while Buffy just smiled.  Her friends all got up to hug her, Spike just ruffled her hair.  They finally all sat back down.

"Wait.  What did Faith mean?"  Asked Dawn.  "When she got mad about me kicking you, I mean you're a slayer.  I thought you could handle it."

"She's not a slayer anymore."  They all looked up as Faith said this.

"What?"  Willow was as shocked as the rest of them.

"She means that some how, I don't have slayer abilities anymore.  I am a normal person."  Buffy smiled.

"You're kidding."  Giles took off his glasses and started to clean them.

"No.  In fact that was the reason the council agreed to get Faith out.  There is, only one, slayer, Faith.  Actually, the council requested that Giles become Faith's watcher and that they be posted on the hellmouth."  the room became quiet as Buffy said this.  "I have the papers in the jeep, I'll get them later."

"Alright."  Giles smiled at the two girls.  "But you know Faith, I will make you train like you've never trained before."

"Looking forward to it G-man."

"Please don't call me that." Giles groaned and the group laughed.

"What about you?"  Spike looked to the tiny blonde sitting across from him.  "Now that you're not a slayer, what are you going to do?"

"I."  Buffy looked around at her friends stopping at Dawn.  "Am going home."

"But you're home is here."  Tara spoke up for the first time.

"She means Spain."  They all looked at Dawn then back to Buffy.

"What's in Spain?"  Willow questioned the two sisters.  Dawn spoke again.

"Dad."

****

After getting her affairs sorted out in Sunnydale, Buffy boarded a plane to Spain.  Any business or person that questioned what had happened, she told them she had faked her death to get away for a while.  It worked nicely.  Buffy paid off debts, the mortgage, put money in an account for Dawn for college and said goodbye.  

All her friends understood.  Spike promised to take care of Dawn and work with Faith.  Faith moved in Willow, Tara and Dawn taking Buffy's room.  Spike moved into the basement to watch over to girls.  Xander and Anya announced their engagement and Buffy promised to come back for the wedding.  Giles and Faith were already bickering about music and that was a good sign.


	7. Reunions

Seven hours later, Buffy landed in Madrid, Spain.  She took a cab to her father's villa, and was awed by the huge estate.  She knocked on the front door and smiled as a man who looked to be in his early fifties looked very fit.

"Hi.  My name is..."

"I could not mistake the eldest daughter of Hank, not with his bragging about you and showing me pictures of you all the time."  His smile was filled with warmth and humor.  "My name is Edward Philacof.  I am one of your father's closet friends, I guess you could say I keep his house running.  Also keep him from falling out."  Edward winked.  "It is good to finally meet you Buffy, please come in." 

"Thanks.  I hate to be rude, but he never said much about you, I mean we never really talked."  Buffy stepped into the huge house.  Edward just smiled and waved off her apology, meaning it was fine.  The main entrance could have held her old house whole.  Edward took her bag and invited her to the kitchen.

"Buffy, I'd like you to meet..."  Edward was suddenly stopped as a dark skinned woman screamed happily and  rushed over to hug Buffy as she did the same.

"Mya, omigod.  It's been so long."  Buffy was smiling so hard her face hurt.

"Baby girl, it's been way to long."  Mya held Buffy out at arms length and scowled.  "You are skin and bones what has happened to you?"

"You two know each other?"  Edward looked bewildered.

"Know each other, I practically raised this little one and her three other partners in crime.  I was their nanny back in LA."  Mya's were sparkling.

"You never told me that."

"It's not exactly pillow talk."

"You two are...?"  Buffy looked back and forth between the two.

"Going on 2 years next May."  Mya held up her ring.

"Why didn't you two tell me, I would've come to the wedding."

"We just wanted to get it over with."  Edward smiled.  "Your father and Ana came to the church with us, very low key."

"Well congrats, even if it is a little late."  Buffy hugged each of them.

"Now, you owe us some explanations."  Mya sat Buffy down at the breakfast bar, and she and Edward stood in front of her, arms crossed.

"I'd rather wait until my dad came home."

"Fine, but at least let me get you some food."  Mya looked set in her ways.  "How about some shrimp jambalaya."  Mya started to move around the kitchen get out food and pots.

"Mya, as much as I now have a craving for it, the jambalaya will take hours."

"Right, then how about a sandwich?"

"That'd be great."

"How."  Edward stepped in.  "About I take care of the sandwich, you do the jambalaya."  He winked at Buffy then they set about the kitchen filling in Buffy about the past years and hearing about hers.

****

"Edward, you old fool."  Hank Summers came through his front door.  Closely followed by his wife Ana.  His face was marred by a frown, but his eyes were all humor.  His friend and procurator of his estate walked out of the kitchen, his face too was serious, but his eyes were filled with laughter.

"Yes, Hank?"

"The guard said a young woman came in by taxi two hours ago.  Said she hasn't left yet.  Now if my memory doesn't fail me, you have a wife."  As Hank helped his wife with her coat she rolled her eyes.

"Don't mind him, he's just being an old fart."

By now Mya had walked into the hall, closely followed by a tiny figure clad in white pants and a white tank top.

"Why Hank, surely you can't be saying my Eddie would cheat on me."  Mya smiled, then moved a little as she spoke next.  "And certainly not with your eldest daughter."  Hank and Ana froze at this and turned to look at Buffy who smiled and waved.

"Hi daddy, hi Ana."

"Buffy.  Omigod."  Hank rushed over and hugged his daughter.  "It is so good to see you."  He held her out at arm's length just as Mya had done and smiled.  "You get prettier every time I see you."

"I really don't."  Buffy laughed a little.  Ana came up and hugged her stepdaughter.

"Oh, Buffy.  I haven't seen you since the wedding.  It's been to long."

"I know, I..."  Buffy pulled away with a confused look on her face.  "Ana are you?"  She looked down at her stepmother's stomach.  It was quite obvious she was pregnant.  Ana laughed.

"Am I that fat?"

"No, no."  Buffy looked panicked.

"Oh, leave her alone you two."  Mya laughed and pulled Buffy away from Hank and Ana and pushed her into the living room.  "Now come on, Buffy said she had something important to tell us, and she wanted to wait until you guys were here, so sit down."  Everyone laughed and followed the two and sat down around Buffy.

"So little Bunnie."  Hank and the others all laughed at Buffy's childhood nickname as Buffy groaned and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Do you guys want to hear what I have to say or not?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I had to."  Hank laughed again.

"Fine."  Buffy took a deep breath and started to tell her tale.  Ignoring her friends and families 'buts', 'omigods', and 'Buffy...s" till she was done.  When she did finish, Buffy looked around at the shocked faces then got up and walked out of the house and out to the stables.


	8. Truths & Lies

Buffy walked along the stalls till she came to a wild red mare.  When Buffy looked she saw no name, instead she turned her attention back to the wild horse.  But something amazing happened, when Buffy reached out her hand to touch the horse, the horse calmed down.  It seemed genuinely happy to see her, as if it knew her.

Buffy opened the stall door and walked inside.  She began to pet, stoke, and brush the horse.  But she was suddenly startled as she heard her father speak.

"I see you've...met your horse."  Buffy turned.

"My horse?"  Her father walked slowly over, careful to stay as far from the horse as possible, while getting as close to Buffy as he could.

"Back in LA, when you were six.  Your mother and I signed you up for lessons.  I thought you might like to ride again one day, so she's yours."

"How'd you know I would come home."  Her father smiled.

"Call it a father's intuition."  He paused, then smiled again.  "You know that horse has a twin."

"Twin horses?"

"Only ones of their kind.  The other is in the stall next to her."  Buffy looked over and saw a black stallion, the black version of her horse staring back at her.  "His name is Apollo.  He's your brother's horse.

"Chris?"

"Who else.  You two would be twins if it weren't for the year's difference in your ages.  Besides who else would pick the wildest horses for himself and his sister.  These two won't let anyone but Chris ride them, feed them, or clean them.  They get pretty violent if someone else tries.  Austin's got a pretty nice bruise from trying.  You and your brother are kindred spirits, Buffy.  Only you two could tame wild horses."

"Not tame, befriend."  Buffy smiled and pet Apollo and his sister.

"What are you going to name her?"  Buffy thought for a second, but then realized the name was obvious.

"Artimis."

"Figures.  You know, the twins' mother, father, two brothers, and one sister all are here.  You'll never guess their names."

"Hera, Zeus, Athena, Aries, and Hermes."

"Lucky shot."  Hank watched as his daughter bid each horse good night before walking outside with him.  They started to walk the long path back to the house.  Hank broke the ice.  "It had to be that wasn't satisfied with dying once, not dying at all even."

"Either me or Chris."

"Better Chris."  

"Dad!"  Buffy playfully hit her father and he smiled.

"You know I love all of you."

"I know."

"So…no more being the slayer?"

"No, just don't have it in me."  Hank looked at his daughter, knowing that she still wanted to be a slayer, even though she told everyone she was happy being normal.

"You could."  Buffy stopped walking and turned to face her father.

"What?"

"Buffy, I hope you won't hold this against Ana.  I was the one who said not to tell you or Dawn."

"Dad, what are you talking about, you're scaring me."  Hank took a deep breath.

"My company it does not deal in accounting.  I sell and buy magical materials.  That's how I met Ana, she was a client of mine, she is a Wicca.  Buffy, I've know that you're the slayer, since you, Dawn and your mother left LA.  I just didn't know how to tell you."

"Do Chris and Drew know?"

"Yes."  Hank looked down.  "Buffy, I'm sorry.  I know I should have told you, but I didn't want to complicate your life any more than it already was."  Buffy looked up at her father, and to his surprise she was smiling.  Then suddenly she laughed.

"I guess it's good you never told me till now.  I would have kicked your ass to China."  Hank's face lit up.

"I'm glad you're not mad."

"Not mad, just a little annoyed.  So, what did you mean I could be the slayer again?"  The two began to walk again.

"Ana could perform a spell to call on the powers that first made the slayer…"

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"We did that once.  My friends and me, the first slayer then tried to kill us in our dreams."

"Oh.  Well I meant the ones that created the slayer, not the slayer herself."

"Oh.  Is there a difference?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Okay, no.  Or okay yes?"  Buffy looked at her father.

"Okay yes."


End file.
